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Author: William A. Jacobson

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William A. Jacobson

William A. Jacobson is a Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Securities Law Clinic at Cornell Law School.

He is a 1981 graduate of Hamilton College and a 1984 graduate of Harvard Law School. At Harvard he was Senior Editor of the Harvard International Law Journal and Director of Litigation for the Harvard Prison Legal Assistance Project.

Prior to joining the Cornell law faculty in 2007, Professor Jacobson had a highly successful civil litigation and arbitration practice in Providence, Rhode Island, concentrating in investment, employment, and business disputes in the securities industry, including many high profile cases reported in leading newspapers and magazines.

Professor Jacobson has argued cases in numerous federal and state courts, including the Courts of Appeal for the First, Fifth and Sixth Circuits, and the Rhode Island Supreme Court.

Professor Jacobson has a national reputation as a leading practitioner in securities arbitration. He was Treasurer, and is a former member of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association, a professional organization of attorneys dedicated to protecting public investors. He frequently is quoted in national media on issues related to investment fraud and investor protection, and in the past has served as one of a small number of private practice attorneys who trained new arbitrators for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

Professor Jacobson is co-author of the Securities Arbitration Desk Reference (Thomson-Reuters), updated annually.

Professor Jacobson is frequently quoted in the media on political and legal topics, has authored many Op-Eds in major publications, and appears on television and radio to discuss politics and the law.

A more complete listing of Professor Jacobson's professional background is available at the Cornell Law School website. The views expressed here are his own and not those of any employer or organization,

The best way to reach Prof. Jacobson is by e-mail here.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 28, 2009 3 Comments

This is the latest in a series on the use of the race card for political gain:Matt Taibbi in explaining the many and varied reasons why he hates Sarah Palin, Sarah Palin, WWE Star:Palin — and there’s just no way to deny this — is...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 28, 2009 3 Comments

It's not Obama's fault that two publicity-seeking reality-show wannabees crashed the State Dinner for the Indian Prime Minister, any more than it was Obama's fault that the Nobel Peace Prize committee awarded Obama the undeserved Peace Prize.In the absence of any real achievements by Obama,...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 28, 2009 4 Comments

Pulls out of his driveway at 2:25 a.m., driving fast enough to cause serious injury when he hits a fire hydrant and tree near his home. No alchohol involved. Likely verdict:In massive fight with his wife, and drove off like a bat out of hell...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 28, 2009 1 Comment

From the London Times, on continuing problems in the British health care system:An immediate investigation to uncover the true extent of death rates across the NHS has been ordered by the Health Secretary after scandals at two hospital trusts. Amid claims that patients are dying...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 27, 2009 7 Comments

Do not worry that your electronic medical records, once in the possession of the government, will not be safe. The government has extensive procedures in place to assure that the never, ever, could there be a breach of security.These security procedures have been developed and...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 27, 2009 2 Comments

Or so it seems. Democratic Representative Mike Capuano is running in the Democratic special primary for Ted Kennedy's Senate seat. While running against numerous other high-profile Democrats, such as Attorney General Martha Coakley, Capuano has put Dick Cheney at the center of his campaign strategy.In...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 27, 2009 0 Comments

From an op-ed by Sen. Jeff Session (R-Ala.), on how Harry Reid was one of the architects, during the Bush administration, of the judicial filibuster. Now that Reid is Majority Leader, Reid is against the use of the filibuster for judicial nominees, and indignantly so:This...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 27, 2009 4 Comments

Scott Eric Kaufman, at the Lawyers, Guns and Money blog, thought counting non-white people at Sarah Palin book signings was a cool way to prove that Palin and her supporters were racist because there were so few non-whites pictured in available photos.In fact, all Kaufman...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 26, 2009 3 Comments

Before I head into a turkey-induced stupor, I'll leave you with these two wonderful clips of the great Rudolph Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn. The first clip is the first time they danced together shortly after Nureyev defected. The second clip will leave your...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 26, 2009 9 Comments

Ithaca, NY, where I work, is in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. Ithacans hate global warming because it is so corporate and capitalist.So at what point in time should global warming have stopped?"The 'Ice age' was really a series of many advances...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 26, 2009 3 Comments

Sarah Palin's visit to a turkey farm last year made news when the camera caught a shot of the owner slaughtering a turkey. The NY Times Editorial Board was all over the controversy.Turns out the farmer in question has had a tough year, for a...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 25, 2009 5 Comments

Another post by Matthew Yglesias engaging in gross generalizations and stereotypes of the politically acceptable kind, Stuff White People Like: Disapproving of Barack Obama:The diversity issues that you see at the elite level of most of American life are, in my opinion, particularly egregious in...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 25, 2009 9 Comments

I really hope this is a bad Photoshop, not the real thing. From DrudgeReport: "Obama leaves WH clutching GQ mag -- featuring himself...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 25, 2009 3 Comments

Obama's new Afghanistan strategy, to be announced formally next week, centers around the phrase "finish the job."That is an interesting concept. Seems simlar to "peace with honor," a very Nixonian phrase signaling that we will claim one thing (the dreaded "V" word) while accepting something...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 25, 2009 11 Comments

Does playing the race card never grow old? Apparently not when Palin Derangement Syndrome is at work.At Lawyers, Guns and Money blog, Scott Eric Kaufman is counting non-white people at Sarah Palin book signings, with smoking gun photos such as the photo (right) of white...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 24, 2009 1 Comment

Allison Kilkenny at HuffPo (September 24, 2009 11:34 AM) on the right-wing inspired killing of Bill Sparkman: By utilizing the branding "Fed," the killers were clearly trying to make a political statement, namely "Obama: Stay Out."Worst call since the criticism of John Bolton for warning...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 24, 2009 13 Comments

The Kentucky state police announced that the death of Bill Sparkman was an elaborate suicide made to look like a murder so that Sparkman's son could collect on his insurance policy. Robert Stacy McCain has all the details and updates.I'll let others delve into all...

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